Prince George has celebrated becoming a teenager with a new official portrait.
It shows the rapidly growing future King George VII wearing a suit after Trooping the Colour last month and was issued by his parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, on their social media accounts with the message ‘Happy 13th birthday, George!’
The picture was taken at Kensington Palace by one of the couple’s favourite and most trusted photographers, Matt Porteous, and marks an important new stage in the young royal’s life.
In September he will become a boarder at Eton College, marking the start of his senior school experience.
He is set to follow in the footsteps of his father, Prince William, who met some of his best friends at the school.
It will be the first time since 2019 that George has attended school without at least one of his two siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
At the same time, William and Catherine are continuing to guide their eldest son along a controlled path to public life, with George undertaking a small but increasing number of official engagements each year.
He was last seen at Wimbledon with his family earlier this month but is unlikely to be seen in public again until he starts school in the autumn.
Prince George has celebrated becoming a teenager with a new official portrait taken by royal photographer Matt Porteous
Fans couldn’t believe how grown up George, pictured here in his first birthday portrait, looked today
George, who is the eldest of the Wales children with younger siblings Charlotte, 11, and Louis, eight, was first introduced to the world when his parents stepped out of the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in London with him in their arms.
Dressed in a summery powder blue frock, Catherine glowed as she and William revealed their first child, George Alexander Louis, to the world.
Royal fans couldn’t believe how ‘grown up’ George looked in his latest birthday photo, with X users writing: ‘What do you mean he’s officially a teenager?!’
One person added: ‘A teenager at last! Wishing Prince George a very Happy 13th Birthday! I hope he had [sic] a wonderful day, surrounded by his amazing family and friends xx’
Fans echoed the same sentiment after George joined the Royal Family to mark his grandfather, King Charles’s official birthday at Trooping the Colour last month.
They gushed he is ‘growing up so fast’ as George looked poised and confident while waving to crowds during the carriage ride to Buckingham Palace alongside his mother, sister, Charlotte, and younger brother, Louis.
Royal watchers were also struck by George’s impressive height when he accompanied Catherine to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire last month.
A video shared by Kensington Palace showed the royal mother and son inspecting the planes on site – with the young prince seen now standing just slightly below his mother, who measures 5ft 9in tall.
Fans were convinced George will ‘bypass Kate by Christmas’ when he joined the Royal Family’s traditional Easter service in April, as the future heir is already well above his 6ft 3in father’s shoulders.
‘I still can’t get over how tall Prince George is getting and he’s only 12,’ one social media user wrote at the time.
Another gushed: ‘Time slow down. You can see how tall Prince George is here especially with Catherine wearing heels.’
Prince George was photographed by Josh Shinner in April in Norfolk for last year’s birthday portrait
In 2024 Kensington Palace shared a stunning black and white photo to mark George’s 11th birthday
Prince George laughs as he wears his sunhat and shades to enjoy the Wimbledon men’s finals earlier this month
The Prince of Wales with Prince George in the Royal Box cooling down with a handheld fan
Ahead of his 13th birthday, royal expert Robert Jobson told the Daily Mail that Prince George’s time at Eton will be worlds away from his father’s experiences because of his ‘settled’ life at home.
‘The difference is everything,’ Mr Jobson said. ‘William walked into Eton [at the age of 14] carrying his parents’ marital war. George walks in from a settled home.’
Mr Jobson said that the future King and Queen have done everything and more to support their eldest son in the move, as George prepares for a new academic era.
‘He asked them if he could board weekly at Lambrook. They agreed. It helped him grow, to be part of a collective,’ the expert said.
‘He is smart. He loves history. Standing before Henry VIII’s armour last October, his father said it plainly. “George, my son, is way better in history than I am, and I have to check with him now on my dates.”
‘He plays football and hockey. Hockey is his mother’s game. He supports Aston Villa, like his dad. Happy to cheer and punch the air in public.
Prince George’s tenth birthday portrait was not taken by Kate, as it often is – instead the Waleses chose to use a snap from Millie Pilkington
Prince George flashing a broad smile in his ninth birthday portrait
‘He has not been spared pain. He watched his mother fight and beat cancer. He watched his grandfather live with it. He has emerged steadier.
‘Eton will be a challenge, but being close to home, in the shadow of Windsor Castle will help.
‘As he steps out in his tailcoat, false collar, he will look a picture.
‘But the environment will protect him like it did his father who thrived there.
‘Then time. A great deal of it, let us hope, for George’s sake.’
George’s birthday comes after his last public outing to the Wimbledon finals along with his parents and sister Charlotte.
The siblings won the hearts of royal fans as they dashed out of the Royal Box at Centre Court to grab sunhats when temperatures in London rose to 29C on the final day of the Championships.
Photos showed George using a handheld fan as he watched Jannik Sinner defeat Alexander Zverev in the final match of the tournament.
The Princess of Wales snapped her eldest son in Norfolk just a few weeks before his eighth birthday
Prince George was also photographed by his mother Kate on his seventh birthday – looking smart in a khaki polo neck
Little lion! Prince George captured by Kate in an England football shirt to mark his sixth birthday in 2019
George looked adorable in his fifth birthday portrait, also taken by Matt Porteous, in the garden of Clarence House
Prince George’s fourth birthday portrait, in which he is beaming at the camera, was taken by Chris Jackson
Prince George’s third birthday portrait was taken by Matt Porteous at the Wales family’s Norfolk home
After settling in, it appeared the scorching heat had affected the young royal, with George pictured using a white portable fan similar to the one used by his mother on the previous day for the women’s final.
The young prince looked rosy-cheeked as he kept himself cool and hydrated during the incredibly warm weather.
It was a fun-filled day for George and Charlotte, who were spotted laughing and chatting with each other while wearing hats and sunglasses – while the youngest Wales child, Louis, who turned eight earlier this year, was notably absent.
Prince George’s 12th birthday portrait was taken by royal photographer Josh Shinner in Norfolk.
In the picture, George is dressed in a white checked shirt layered with a khaki gilet, as he leans over a wooden gate and smiles for the camera.
The year before that, Kensington Palace shared a black-and-white photo of George, looking smart in a suit, when he turned 11.
